


Color Theory

by liiDoodles



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Colors, Dustin IS a scientist and no one can tell me otherwise, F/M, Martin Brenner Being an Asshole, Science Fiction, Soulmates, There's A Tag For That, Time Travel, Wow, get in loser we're doing a soulmate AU, ok i need to stop tagging this so you can read it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-20
Updated: 2020-05-20
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:15:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24287233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liiDoodles/pseuds/liiDoodles
Summary: Mike always saw the world in color.To you, that seems to be the norm, what you're used to.But Mike had no idea that in his world, it was an odd thing.---total science fiction geekiness mixed with Mileven fluff and a soulmate AU
Relationships: Eleven | Jane Hopper/Mike Wheeler, Maxine "Max" Mayfield/Lucas Sinclair
Comments: 17
Kudos: 41





	Color Theory

**Author's Note:**

> this took me like, two weeks to write, and I'm finally done and now I'm beginning to wonder if I should've made it shorter because no matter how hard I try I simply cannot hold this off to edit it any more. It has to be done or my brain is gonna kill me in my sleep. please, for the love of god, if you stumble upon this, read my actual story that has more than a toothpick of structure right here: 
> 
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/22853503
> 
> and if you like this better, well, OK. I don't control what you like or dislike so there.
> 
> also, possible TW for people with panic attacks, as Mike kind of has one here, or at least, one similar to what I've experienced with my anxiety.
> 
> please enjoy!

Mike always saw the world in color. 

To you, that seems to be the norm, what you're used to. 

But Mike had no idea that in his world, it was an odd thing. 

Mike grew up with several people. A few he knew so well that he couldn't remember a time they weren't in their lives. Others he simply couldn't imagine living without. 

At the age of twelve, Mike had four friends. 

Max, Lucas, Dustin, and Will. 

They were like any old ragtag team of kids. 

Just like anybody else. 

Or… Mike thought so. 

"Do you ever try to imagine what colors look like?" 

It was mid-June. Summer was in full swing and the only place the party wanted to be was outside. Not many places in town were nerd-friendly, so really, the only place they wanted to go was the hill on the eastern outskirts of town.

Mike loved it there, he always said it was brighter than anywhere else. Dustin and Will never understood that.

He should've taken that as a hint. 

Mike looked over to Will from his spot on the grass, eyes narrowed and eyebrows knitted. 

Dustin groaned from where he was laying, hat hanging over his eyes. "Colors? Will come on, you know nobody can see those. They're just a myth." 

"No way! My dad said that since he met my mom he's always seen color!" Lucas grumbled. 

"Isn't it like a soulmates thing? Like, the closer you are to your soulmate the brighter the colors are?" Max sat up from her spot, her hair standing out against the sky. 

Max and Lucas had been dating for… well, forever. 

It started in third grade, probably as a joke, but now, soon to be freshmen, they still hadn't broken up. Mike thought it was gross, but the others really didn't seem to mind. 

"My parents never mentioned anything about colors." 

"Yeah, that's because your parents aren't soulmates, Mike."

"No need to rub it in, Lucas." 

"What I was going to say is…" Will spoke up, shooting up from the ground, hair slightly damp from sweat as pieces of grass clung to his forehead. "How can you know if you're seeing color? Like, what if your soulmate is your neighbor or something? How would you be able to tell?" 

The group fell silent as Will waited for a response.

Mike didn't think he knew what colors looked like, but what if he did? 

What if he was seeing in color right now?

"What if we did a test? All of us. We can like, point to something and say what color it is." 

Max laughed. "Dustin, none of us know any colors. How can we name them if we don't know them?" 

"Well- we can- uh…" Dustin looked around, eyes catching on several things around them. 

"My parents say the sky is blue. Maybe we can, like, point to other blue things?" Lucas was sat up now too, arm around Max's shoulder as he looked up. 

"How will we know if someone is lying or like, confused?" Mike finally sat up, looking over his shoulder at Lucas as he tried to solve this out. 

Lucas paused, head falling down to look towards the ground as his free hand came to wipe sweat from his brow. "We can all fact check it. If one of us sees color, then we won't have the same answers. If none of us do, then we will." 

Dustin sat up, hands coming up to secure his hat on his head. "Ok, fine. You start, Lucas." 

Lucas paused, hand coming up to his forehead to shield his eyes from the sun as he looked to the sky. Blue. What a weird name for a color. Mike thinks he’s seen blue things before. Dustin’s cap is blue. At least he thinks it is. Blueberries are blue, that makes sense, it’s in the name. The flowers his mom likes so much are blue. Not always, but how would she know? She must just like how they look without color. Wait a minute, how would he know?

Lucas seems to have finally found something and to his surprise, he’s pointing directly to Mike. 

“Your top is blue.” 

Mike looks down and tugs at the front of his shirt, looking back up to the sky one more to do just one more quick check. 

“Yeah. I think?” 

It’s a darker blue, but undeniably the same color. 

Do all colors have variations like that? 

Mike hears Dustin scoff from his left. “No way dude. Mike’s shirt is like, so much darker.”

Will nods, pointing to Dustin to clarify his point. “Yeah. Those can’t be the same color.” 

Max shakes her head. “No, I think they’re right. The sky is lighter but mike’s shirt is still…” she turns to Lucas with an uncertain look. “Uh, what was it again?”

“Blue.” 

“Yeah, that. It’s just darker.”

Dustin looks between the sky and Mike’s shirt. “Ok, but how do we know who's seeing color, and who’s not? What if Will and I are seeing color and you three are wrong?”

They all look around, eyes flying around between the sky, Mike’s shirt, and each other. 

Will groans. “There has to be some sort of scientifically proven way to know, i mean what are the chances that we’re the first people to wonder about this?” 

“Incredibly low.” Dustin chimes in. 

“Exactly! We just have to do some research.” 

It didn’t take much negotiating to get the party back into town and to the library. Dustin especially seemed excited, so much so that the second their bikes were parked, he seemed to be sprinting for the door. 

So of course, when they realized that finding a book about soulmates was much harder than expected, he was the one they forced to ask the front desk. 

“Where would you even find books about soulmates in a library? Science or Romance?” 

Mike squeezed his eyes shut, pinching the bridge of his nose as he held back a groan. “Dustin, that's why we’re asking! You don't need to know what genre it is! We just need to know where it is!” 

“Ok, ok, don’t be so pissy, Micheal.” he waves his hand around melodramatically before finally walking up to the front desk. 

Just as he reaches the desk, Mike’s thoughts are interrupted by a high pitched whisper. “Maybe this isn’t a good idea.”

Mike turns to Max, eyebrows furrowed. 

“Why not? Wouldn't you want to know if your soulmate was Lucas? Or if it was some kid who lived two doors down?” 

“No. Because what if it is Lucas! We’re fucking fourteen Mike! I don't know if I can deal with the fact that he’s it for me. Fuck, we haven’t even said I love you yet or anything! That would be crazy! Like, what if we are? Do I have to instantly love him or does it still take time? When should we get married? Like, now or-” 

Lucas seems to have had enough of the whisper screaming, finally interrupting Max mid-ramble. “Max, seriously calm down. We probably aren’t even soulmates anyway.” 

That makes her stop and glare at him. 

“You don't think we are?” 

Lucas’s eyes widen. “I didn’t say that!” 

Max’s eyebrows furrow, pulling her hand away from Lucas’s to cross her arms. “Well, if we aren’t soulmates why are we dating?” 

Lucas’s hands shoot up to his head, running his hands through his hair. “Fuck, Max, I dont know, what do you want me to say?”

“Not fucking ‘probably not!’” 

Never in his life has Mike been happier to hear Dustin’s clopping footsteps. 

“Hey, I’m back you guys can stop fighting now.” 

* * *

“So she said it was three down and two over right?” 

Dustin nods. “Yeah, that’s what she said.” 

Lucas looks up at the signs overhead, eyes focusing on the words. “But this is the astrology and palm reading section. Not the science section.”

“This is where she said it was!” 

“I swear to god, Dustin, if this is some kind of joke-” 

“Hey! Guys!” 

Mike jumps in place, nearly losing his balance on the ladder he’s standing on. 

From down below, Mike can hear Max call back, “Did you find it, Will?” 

Mike crawls down, curiosity renewed, and energy rising. 

“I think so?” 

Will is crouched on the ground in the corner, fingers brushing against the spine of possibly the strangest looking book Mike has ever seen. 

It’s a leather-bound book, most likely, not mass-produced, and it’s covered completely in dust and cobwebs. But, probably the strangest thing was that it was the only book about soulmates in the entire library. 

Dustin chuckled. ‘ _ Love and Hue.’ _ Gross. What kind of sappy guy wrote this?”

Will pulled the book out and checked the front cover. “Martin Brenner, that’s who.”

Mike paused. “Wait, isn’t that the really famous psychologist? The one who talked someone off of a cliff?” 

Will nodded. “Yeah, I think so. He’s published tons of books. I've never heard of this one though.”

Lucas kneeled down beside Will, gently taking the book from his hands and opening it to the first page. 

Mike’s eyes widened.

Lucas flipped the page back and forth disbelievingly, eyes getting bigger each time he did so.

“There’s no publisher.”

Lucas holds the book up to the light, flipping the page yet again, just to make sure he isn’t missing something. After a few flips, he tugs back the next two pages, searching for some kind of sign this isn't a cursed relic or something.

The title page is handwritten too, some kind of neat cursive writing that Mikes only ever seen on those old scientific figure studies. The tilt of the letters isn't to the right though, it's to the left as if they're scared of whatever lies in the book. 

Mike's enraptured, every second that passes he feels as though this book becomes more and more fascinating, and his need to know what lies deep between the pages grows stronger still. 

Lucas is seconds away from turning the next page, thumb resting beneath the thin slip of worn paper when they hear someone clear their throat. 

It's the librarian from before, the sweet old lady that hums to herself behind the counter and offers everyone butterscotch candies. Her smile is sickeningly sweet, in an eerie sort of way as she leans down to take the book from Lucas's hands. 

"The library is closing in five minutes, I'd suggest you leave this place." 

Everyone else stands, eyes only slightly reflecting a sort of dazed panic, as if they had been found doing something bad, but don't remember why. 

And now that Mike thinks of it, he can't even remember why they were at the library in the first place. 

So he follows his friends to the door, strolling down the aisles of books as they head for the exit, oblivious to the screaming coming from the broom closet two rows back. 

* * *

"You said no? Will what the fuck! She's like, the hottest girl in school! She could've asked me to chop off another dude's dick and I'd say yes!" 

Max grimaces. "Dustin that's fucking disgusting, what the fuck." 

Dustin's eyes widen. "Come on, Max, even you should be able to see how hot she is." 

Max stutters and reaches for Lucas's hand, wrapping it around her shoulder as she stands. "Whatever! Are you going to keep bitching about it or are we gonna do this?" 

Mike sighs, taking one last drag of his cigarette before crushing the embers against the cool metal of the bleachers and flicking it off to the right. "Just give it up Dustin, it's none of your business. Maybe Will's more into brunettes or something, right buddy?" Mike bumps his elbow against Will, making him jump. 

"Yeah! Yeah, that's it. Brunettes." Will stands too, grabbing his bag off of the bench behind him before stumbling off the steps alongside the others. 

Lucas sighs. "Anyways, what grades did you guys get on finals?" 

Max instantly lights up, a huge smile coming to her cheeks. "A plusses all around baby!"

"That's great babe! Dustin, Will?" 

Dustin shrugs. "I got all A's too, except for French. Got a B in that one." 

Will laughs. "I got all A's too. So I guess Dustin's the stupid one this year!" 

Dustin gasps, his hand coming up to clutch at his chest dramatically. "You wound me, William, how dare you say such things! Dear Micheal hasn't even told us how he did!"

Max laughs as her converse step off the grass of the football field and onto the parking lot. "Come on man, no way Mike got anything but all A's. He's never even seen a score lower than one-hundred." 

Mike felt his head drop as she said this, a warmth coming to spread on his cheeks. 

Will nudges him. "You… did pass, right? Mike?"

Mike shakes his head. "I got an F." 

The whole group goes silent, shock coming off in waves. Mike ignores it, head hung low as the all too familiar stabbing pain comes to the back of his skull. 

It used to be that he would get migraines on occasions. Normally in the middle of the day. Sometimes at night. They started shortly after he began freshman year, and now, two years later, they're still there. It's something that's slowly been eating away at him, something that's been making the world seem darker every day.

Lucas's voice is distant when he speaks, but nonetheless, reaches Mike's ears without incident. "What?" 

"I got an F on my English final. My teacher said I didn't follow the assignment correctly." 

Dustin took a few long strides, feet falling into step alongside Mike's. "What? The independent research essay?" 

"Yeah. She said my topic was unverifiable."

Lucas pulls out his car keys, ready to unlock the all-too-familiar white van that he always drives them to school in. Most people would be creeped out by it, but what other cars can hold five growing teenagers? 

Max snickers. "What was your topic? DnD shit?"

Mike rolls his eyes. "Haha, very funny. No, it was uh, it was on color theory." 

Dustin groaned as he pulled the door open, clamoring into the back seat. "Why can't you get over that shit man? It's only a fucking myth. None of it has been proven." 

Will slid into his usual place in the middle seat, turning around to look at Dustin with a raised eyebrow. "Well, if Mike did an essay on it there had to have been some kind of source he was using, right?" 

Mike grunted as he fell back into his seat, head falling back. "Yeah, but I had to go to the library on the outskirts of town." 

Lucas grimaces as he starts the ignition. "Ew, the gross hippy one from the '70s?" 

Mike nods, lips pursed in discomfort as he remembers the place. "Yeah, that would be the one." 

Max sighs, turning to Lucas as she unwraps a stick of gum, probably came from the dashboard. "Listen, are we going to keep talking about Mike's imaginary colors, or are we going to get this show on the road?" 

Dustin lets out a loud whoop and grabs onto Will and Mike's headrests, practically bouncing in his seat. "Let's blow this popsicle stand!" 

Mike rolls his eyes. "Nobody says that anymore you idiot." 

* * *

Some days are worse than others. 

Like Wednesdays.

Wednesdays are when the migraines are the worst. 

It always starts the same way, a scream. 

It's not Mike who screams though, it's always in his head. And it doesn't even sound like him. It's more feminine. More pained. More jaded. 

Then his heartbeat picks up pace. Like he's running a marathon while sitting in place. Breaking a sweat without moving an inch. 

Then he goes numb. 

The numbness is always the least painful, yet it always hurts the most. Not in the physical sense, but in the suspense. In the wait. The waiting for what comes next, the waiting for the end. 

The stabbing. 

Imagine someone drilling a million tiny holes in the back of your head and then stirring your brains around with a rusty pipe. It's as if he's being scraped dry of all thoughts. 

Back when he first started getting them, Mike would always end up passing out before it stopped. He would get lightheaded or would forget to breathe for a few seconds, and he would just faint. 

Mike remembers telling Dustin it was just growing pains. 

Mike wishes it was that easy to explain. 

They're about an hour or two into the trip now. Today's migraine was a little more bearable than most days, after all, it was a Friday, and Fridays tended to be more kind than any other day. 

It doesn't mean it doesn't hurt. 

Will is plugged into his walkman and listening to the clash while he sketches the scenes that pass by his window. Some are more earthy, rows of pine trees surrounded by mushrooms and dandelions. Others are more urban, like run-down bus stops with passed out drunks and smoking teens. 

Dustin is reading some book on quantum physics, or, more specifically, quantum entanglement. Dustin says it's fascinatingly romantic that no matter how far apart two entangled atoms may be, they still manage to be connected. Mike prefers to ignore that part of his long, wistful speeches. Partially because he's bitter, but mostly because whenever Dustin talks about it, Mike feels a weird sense of deja vu.

Mike's just staring out the window, eyes catching on passing cars and the setting sun as he counts interstate signs and town borders. 

They're going to Chicago.

Ever since Lucas got his license, they've been planning a trip like this. A trip to somewhere a little less suburban and more urban. A little less country, a little more rock-and-roll. 

They're maybe two towns out when it first happens. 

Mikes counting cars, seeing how many pick-up trucks pass in a thirty-minute window on average. He's up to ten when it goes dark. 

And not dark as in the sky, dark as in blind. As in Mike closing his eyes, but they're wide open. Blind as if he can only feel and smell and hear. 

His voice is shaky as he speaks, blinking rapidly. "Guys- I think somethings wrong, I can't see." 

Behind him, Mike hears a book snap shut. "What?" 

"Dustin, I can't see."

There's a pause and a shuffle of papers before he feels a presence over his shoulder. "Are your eyes closed?" 

Mike shakes his head, trying to take in breaths but failing, counting to ten but never getting past three. 

Mike hears Dustin slide away from him before faint music can be heard. Something by the Clash, he thinks. "Will, Will. Mike says he can't see." 

"What? His eyes are open. Of course, he can see. Dude, how many fingers am I holding up?" 

Mike searches for a number, any number. His mind is fuzzy and buzzing and the migraine is coming back full force, only this time it's all happening at once, the numb and the screaming and his heart rate and- 

A number. A number. Give him a number. Any number. What numbers are there? Numbers… 

"Eleven." 

There's a long pause and then a low laugh. "Dude, stop fucking with us, it's not funny." 

Mike heaves, trying to catch his breath, barely holding onto consciousness as his hands reach for his hair. His forehead is slick with sweat, but he's freezing cold. 

A voice echoes from somewhere behind him, making his ears ring. "Dude, hey, you can stop tweaking out dude, the jig is up." 

His mouth hurts. He has to open it, he has to say something. What does he have to say? Where is he? Who is he? Where is the end? When does it end? 

Where is she? Where is she? Where is she? 

"LUCAS PULL OVER!" 

"Will, come on he's fine, look he- holy shit, Mike what the fuck is going on?" 

He can't hear. He can't distinguish voices. He can't distinguish smells. He cant feel his face. He knows he's awake. He knows he's here, he just can't seem to do anything. He's a husk. An empty shell. A pawn in a game. 

And then it's black. 

When he opens his eyes the world looks different. 

"Mike! Hey, are you ok? Hey, can you hear me? Mike?" 

Will is clutching his arm and Lucas is holding a wet towel to his forehead. Mike's sprawled out across the middle seat of the van, windows rolled down and A/C cranked up all the way as cars continued to drive past. They're pulled over on the side of the road right by a cornfield, the faint smell of lavender running in through Mike's nose. 

Mike squeezes his eyes shut, because the more he looks at the world, the more his head pounds. 

"What happened?" 

Mike feels Will slump down in his seat a little bit, fingers coming to check Mike's pulse as he speaks. "You started saying that you couldn't see or some shit like that, and then you started hyperventilating and sweating and shivering. At first, I thought you were just nauseous, but then you just kept murmuring the number Eleven over and over and over, and you wouldn't respond to anything around you. I thought you were having a seizure." 

His eyes shot open. Eleven. Why did that sound so familiar? Of course he knew the number eleven, but right now he didn't think that was what he was talking about. 

Did he have a stroke? Is that why everything looked… empty? 

"Guys, I think somethings wrong." 

Will leaned forward, eyebrows hitching with concern as his hand shot up to Mike's forehead. "What? What is it man? Shit, Mike please don't die on me, please."

Mike chuckles lightly and opens his eyes, pushing Will's hands back as he sat up. "No, no, it's not that it's just…" 

And that was the moment it clicked. Because when he sat up to see the normal tone of the sky was no longer there, he knew what happened. 

He's breathless, shocked. None of it made any fucking sense. Because it was meant to be a myth. Sure, there's research on it, but Mike never thought any of that was actually true. He never even considered… 

"... I think I have a soulmate." 

* * *

"Ok, ok, five steps that way." 

"Dustin, this is stupid." 

"Five steps, Mike!" 

Mike groans and takes five steps forward, eyes quickly filling with the world with grey. 

"So, is it back?" 

"Yes! Dustin I don't know what you want from me!" 

Dustin narrows his eyes. "Mike, I am a scientist. You do know of the scientific method, yes?"

Mike sighs and turns around, brushing past Dustin as he walks. "Yes, I know, I know, trial and error, whatever bullshit you want to believe. Let's just get back into the car, we're halfway to Illinois." 

Lucas glanced over when he heard him approach, taking another drag from his cigarette before passing it over to Max. "Mike I really don't think any of us would mind canceling the trip. I mean, honestly, I'm more interested in this than going to Navy Pier and getting a fucking t-shirt." 

Max snickered ss he passed, rolling the cigarette between her thumb and index finger. "Yeah, I mean if you aren't bullshitting us then maybe we could like, make a scientific discovery or something nerdy like that." 

Will was still hunched over in his car seat, hands holding back his hair as he took heavy breaths, eyes unfocused. "How can he be lying? He nearly died ten minutes ago! You don't fake shit like that!" 

"Exactly, so I'm not lying." 

They're on the road again after a few more minutes of bickering. They're going back to Hawkins, despite Mike's instance that he was fine, Will still seems too freaked out to get up and Lucas, Dustin, and Max are far too confused to enjoy any kind of trip. 

So as they drive, Mike tells them what he knows. 

"Color theory was originally a theory by Andrew Rainer in 1835. He had been abroad in France for a year, education, and when he came back, he brought a woman named Adeline Toussaint to America with him. He claimed that ever since he had met her he had been able to see things that he called colors." 

Max turned around in her seat, arm bracing against the middle console. "So wait, people didn't have soulmates before then? How is that possible?" 

Mike shakes his head. "No, there probably were, this was just the first documented case of it." Mike cleared his throat. "He was just the first to propose the idea that there were thousands upon thousands of colors." 

Dustin sat up straighter in his seat, scooting forward a few more inches to look over Mike's shoulder at his book. "How do you know which is which?" 

Mike turned his head. "Well, they look different. You know how the bill of your hat is a darker color than the front?" Dustin nodded. "It's red." 

"Dude! That's awesome!" Dustin turned around quickly grabbing his physics book, tapping the cover. "Ok, uh, what color is this?" 

Mike looked at the cover. He tried to think of things that matched it, the sky, the quarry, Will's t-shirt. 

"Blue, I think." 

Dustin looked at the book in awe, almost like how a mother looked at her newborn baby. "Amazing." 

"Yeah, guys that's great and all but how are we gonna prove any of this? I mean, Mike is the only one of us who knows for sure he can see color, so how do we figure that out?" 

Dustin clears his throat, clapping Mike firmly on the shoulder. "I think I know just what we have to do." 

Max laughs, smoke escaping her lips as her chuckles echo off the walls of the car. "Yeah? And what's that?" 

Dustin smirks. "We have to find Mike's soulmate." 

* * *

Dustin unfolds the map from his backpack, hands smoothing out the edges to show the entirety of Hawkins. "Ok, where in town are the colors the brightest?" 

It's past midnight when they get back onto the streets of Hawkins, cramped legs, and under-eye bags the only things keeping them from biking around at this time of night. 

Normally, if they wanted to do something, they have to walkie and then bike over to someplace to meet. But tonight, they weren't expected home, and wouldn't be caught sneaking out. 

So they're in the van. 

Mike squeezes his eyes shut, pulling memories from his head, scouring for something, anything. 

"The hill… you know, the one we used to hang out at all the time as kids?" 

"Hulburry Hill?" Will pipes up, eyebrows creased. Mike's relieved that he seems to have calmed down, but he really didn't need another person asking him a shit-ton of questions. 

Mike barely hums in confirmation before Lucas makes a sharp left turn, one hand coming off the steering wheel to do a mock-salute. "Ay, ay, captain." 

It's cold out that night, despite being the beginning of June. Leave it to Indiana to fuck up the weather patterns.

The party hasn't been to Hulburry since they were fifteen… 1985? Well, at least two years. In that time, it seems to have come more overgrown, grass standing tall against the horizon as they climb, early morning dew drenching Mike sneakers with each step. 

"What does it feel like? Knowing someone is out there waiting for you?" 

Will is looking over to Mike, eyebrows downturned in a look of curiosity, his light tone stark against the sound of the early morning breeze and chirping cicadas. 

To be completely honest, Mike can't even begin to imagine what that feels like. He's never really been too interested in romance. Sure, there have been times where he has wondered what it would feel like to kiss a girl- he remembers one time he had asked Lucas and he had just said it was warm and wet, but in a good way, whatever that means - but to be completely honest, he's never gotten the whole "finding the one" idea that everyone seems to have in their heads at this age. 

"I don't know. I can't really imagine myself in a relationship. I can barely even begin to think what my soulmate will be like, much less wanting to like, hold hands, or something mushy like that." Mike swallows as he feels his cheeks heat up. Pink, he reminds himself. They're pink.

"Ok, so here's the plan." Dustin is standing at the top of the hill, facing the four of them as he gestures for then to be quiet. "Mike, you're going to walk around the outskirts of the hill, you know, like, where the slope meets the ground." Dustin pauses, a look of confusion crossing his features. "Is there a name for that?" 

Max snaps and takes a step forward, making sure to get Dustin's attention. "Hey, stay on topic." 

Dustin nods, “Right, ok, so, you walk around the hill and then tell us what side has the brightest colors, then we walk in that direction and, hopefully, find your soulmate!” Mike watches as Dustin flings his arms out wide, dramatically spreading his hands as he shakes them, they're called jazz hands, he thinks. 

Will steps forward a bit, reaching up to pull Dustin's hands back down to his sides. “Ok, and what happens then? Do we just take her back with us?”    
  


Max scoffs. “Who says it's a girl? We don't know what Wheeler’s into.” 

Dustin shrugs, shoulders fluidly rising and falling before he turns to run towards the bottom of the hill, hands waving the rest of them forward. “Come on, guys!” 

Mike sighs as they make their way down, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jacket and taking heavy steps in the direction Dustin is heading. “Let's just get this over with.” 

Max groans from her place behind Mike, flashlight dangling from her right hand lazily. “Mike are you sure this is the right direction? I mean, we’ve been walking for forever now and we haven't seen jack shit.” 

“Who's the one who can see in color Mayfield?” 

“How do you know I can't?” she snarks back. 

Though it is kind of starting to feel hopeless. 

The party has been walking through the woods for about an hour now and the only sign that they're getting anywhere is Mike, who just so happens to be the only one of them proven to have the ability to see color. It’s kind of stupid honestly because maybe they really are getting nowhere. 

But then again, with each step Mike takes something begins to pull him, lure him to something, as if there's a magnet pulling him forwards, filling him with this feeling that he just can't see yet. It's a new feeling, a feeling that Mike can't identify, one that's warm and soft and addicting in the best possible way. It sort of reminds him of the summers the party used to spend out on Hulburry Hill, the days spent with water pistols warmed by the sun being sprayed recklessly and without regret, the days spent racing across the grass, foreheads covered in sweat as they desperately tried to catch their breaths, and the days where they used to just sit and talk about meaningless shit that at the time felt so, so important to them, dirt staining their clothes and leaves stuck in their hair. 

It's been forever since Mike felt that free, that young, that reckless, and yet, with each passing evergreen tree he begins to feel it all over again, just a thousand times stronger. 

“Hey, do you guys see that?” 

Mike blinks, snapping out of his thoughts as Lucas comes to stand up next to him, flashlight coming to point forward towards some kind of clearing. The whole group stops, eyes searching for what it might be. 

Will takes a hesitant step forwards, leaning forward as his flashlight's beam of light meets Lucas’s paths crossing to point forwards. “Isn't that-”

“Brenner labs., Dustin says, breathlessly, eyes widening as light starts to flicker in the distance. 

Max walks forward, coming to stand on Mike’s left, along with Lucas. “I thought that place was just a myth.” 

Lucas reaches for her hand, voice shaking as he laces their fingers. “I guess not.” 

Mike huffs as he secures his bag over his shoulder, steps resuming at a much quicker pace than before, eyes fixed on the barbed wire fencing in the distance. 

“MIKE! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?” Dustin races forward, right hand coming forwards to grasp at his wrist, pulling him back towards the depths of the forest. 

Mike whips around, face hot as he shakes his arm free. “SHE’S IN THERE DUSTIN I FUCKING KNOW IT!” 

Will clutches at his backpack straps, frozen in place as he yells to them, “MIKE, YOU’VE HEARD WHAT PEOPLE SAY THEY DO IN THERE! YOU CAN’T JUST BREAK-IN WHAT IF THEY GET YOU, TOO!”

Mike looks to the ground, breath coming out in heavy pants as he hesitantly looks back to his friends, eyes full of apologies. “I’m sorry, I can't leave here knowing she's stuck in that place. I don’t care if they dissect me for my organs or some shit! She’s in there and I have to save her!”

“MIKE!” Lucas screeches, voice breaking as he watches one of his oldest friends dart towards the fence. 

And as if on cue, a window shatters and a shadowy figure falls to the ground with grace, landing on its feet as it runs towards the fence, guards chasing after it as it hurtles over barricades, around groups of trees, and over cars with ease. 

Mike watches as the shadow scales the fence, just barely able to make out the form of a girl, hair flowing behind her in curled strands, hospital gown tearing on the barbs as she throws herself over the barricade, slamming against the ground, a cloud of dust stirring at her feet. 

The party watches from afar the two look at each other, then suddenly, the girl grabs Mike’s hand and runs straight towards them, eyes downturned as her form comes closer. 

Someone yells,“ RUN!” and, then suddenly, the sound of gunshots echoes against the air, bullets lodging themselves in trees as Mike and the girl rush past them. Four pairs of feet spring into action, running after them, fear catapulting them forwards as the four join the two in running, trying their best to stay alive. 

* * *

The second the Wheelers basement door is shut behind them, the girl whips around, hand releasing Mikes and then coming up to slap him straight in the face. 

“WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU THINKING!?”

Mike’s eyes fly open as a hand comes up to where her palm came into contact with his cheek, mouth dropping open. 

On any other day, with any other person, Mike would run away, fear carrying him until he fell to the ground, breaths shallow and knees weak. 

But he’s frozen in place as the girl’s face is hit with the light. 

She is by far the most beautiful person Mike has ever seen in his entire life.

Her eyes are a light brown, shining in the dim light of his basement as eyelashes curl over round eyes. Her pupils are blown wide, either from shock or anger, Mike can't really tell. Her nose slopes delicately, the lightest smattering of freckles falling against her cheeks, contrasting against the blush that sits high on her cheeks. Her lips are parted, breath escaping in huffs as she stares at him, eyebrows angling downwards. She’s probably five inches shorter than he is, tall enough to easily fit against his lanky form, head just short enough to rest perfectly under his chin.

Mike blinks, trying to force his mouth open to say anything, but his throat is dry, and words seem to escape his mind at the moment. He’s barely even aware that his friends are there with him, watching the two of them with interest and confusion. 

The girl groans and reaches up to grab his neck, pulling him downwards as she springs up onto her toes, lips crashing against his roughly. 

This is by far, the best night of Mike’s life. 

Distantly, he can hear his friends gasp and gag at the display, but Mike honestly couldn’t give a shit about them as this girl’s lips mold against his perfectly as her hands slip up into his hair, pulling him down further somehow and his neck angles itself to meet her. He barely even registers it when he starts kissing her back with double the passion, making her let out a long breath through her nose. It's everything that Mike has never even dreamed of, but it's so, so, much better than anything he’s ever felt. Their lips slide against each other, wet and hot and passionate and perfect-

She pushes him away, fist punching the air out of his lungs as she mumbles something incoherently. Her arms reach down to his sides as she hugs herself to him, face buried in his chest. 

“I hate you so, so much, you fucking asshole.” 

The room is silent as Mike tries to steady himself, head spinning and heart racing as his hand absently comes to brush against honey brown strands, hands weaving through them easily, as if they were made of water. He’s holding his breath, eyes closed as he tries to bring himself back to earth, toes curling in his shoes. 

“Ok, does someone want to tell me who  _ the fuck _ she is?” 

Max is standing at the front of the group as the three boys behind her remain frozen in shock, jaws down to the floor and eyes bugging out of their heads. 

The girl pulls away from him and Mike tries to ignore how cold he feels as he watches her turn to the four of them. 

She freezes, eyes falling to the ground, full of fear as she starts walking back towards the worn couch pushed against the right wall, plopping down with a resounding thud as a hand comes up to her lips. “Oh, shit.” She looks over to Mike, eyebrows shooting up as she shakes in place. Tears well up in her eyes, as her hand muffles a sob. “I'm so, so sorry, oh, god, I-” 

Mike suddenly feels anger burning in his chest, whipping around to face the basement door. “Max! What the fuck!”

“No, you, what the fuck! What was that!?”

Mike groans and turns away from them walking towards the couch where the girl is now sitting, face buried in her palms. He kneels in front of her and reaches for one of her hands gently pulling it away from her face. “Hey, what's wrong?” 

“Mike, do you know her?!” Will is shaking too, eyes brimmed with tears as he clings to Dustin in fear. 

Mike blinks. Does he know her? He feels like he knows her. But then why can't he remember her name? Or her favorite color? Or her favorite food? Or anything he wants to know and doesn't already? Why doesn’t he know her? 

The girl grabs his hand and weaves her fingers through his almost subconsciously, her other and comes down to cover her mouth once again, sobs wracking through her entire body. It's only a second though before she spots his hand and shrieks as some kind of invisible force throws him back, sliding him across the floor as his friends start to panic, running to his side. 

“MIKE!” “WHAT THE HELL-” “I’M CALLING THE POLICE” “JESUS!”

“EVERYONE SHUT UP!” The room goes silent, all eyes turned towards the girl on the couch, now sitting upright, hands spread out in the air as she breathes, shoulders moving up and down with the effort. Tears stream down her face as she looks between all of them, eyes coming to rest on Mike before she allows herself to speak. “I'm going to explain all of this, ok?! Just- give me a second!” 

The room falls silent yet again as they hold their breaths, eyes glued to the girl in front of them as she looks to her feet, eyes darting across the floor like she’s trying to solve something. Suddenly her hand comes to rest on the couch beside her, palm up.

Without looking up, she speaks. “Mike, come hold my hand please, I’m freaking out.” her voice is shaky and no one says a word as Mike stands up and grabs her hand, sitting next to her on the couch without hesitation. 

The weight of her hand in Mike’s is heavy with meaning, fingers clasped together with his as she keeps her eyes trained to her feet. She knows him. He doesn't know how, or why, but this girl knows him. She just has to. But then why doesn't he know her?

The rest of the group seems to take the silence as a hint, all going to find seats around them. Lucas and Dustin go to sit in the beanbag chairs that are thrown out in front of the TV and Max and Will plop down on the loveseat that sits perpendicular to the couch, all of them leaning forward with curiosity as they wait. 

Finally, she looks up, eyes red-rimmed, and cheeks bright red. “Ok, let me start from the beginning.” her hand grips Mike’s tighter and he squeezes back, focusing completely on her as she speaks. 

“I was born on February 14th, 1971. Valentine's day. My parents were Terry Ives and Martin Brenner. My mother was in college, doing research on the theory of color, and my father, someone you’ve all probably heard of, was studying that at the same time. He was writing a book on his findings and had posted a help wanted poster up by the IU campus in hopes of getting a few lab assistants. My mother was one of them.” 

Mike swallows as he stares at her. Her lips are upturned in the smallest of smiles, one you wear when remembering a fond memory or an old friend. The way her lips curl makes his stomach swoop in a way that makes his cheeks hurt. Because she’s real. She’s real and she has memories and regrets and experiences he’s never had. 

"Well, my mother actually quite enjoyed working with my father, so he hired her and a few others for a summer internship. At some point, she must've been roped into becoming a test subject, but my father refuses to tell me how exactly. The number of drugs my mom was on made her weak, and apparently, my father saw this as an opportunity." 

His hand is clutching her tighter now, and Mike feels like he's gonna be sick, because she can't mean- I mean this guy is the best selling author of hundreds of theories on physics, how could he just- 

"I was born on February, 14th, and my mother was so drugged she can't even remember it." 

Mike didn't think the world was so cruel, didn't think it was so unfair, to do something like that to someone like her, but it was. 

Because it did. 

Mike felt the hand clasped in his tremble, fingers cold and shaking, and almost immediately his fingers eased slightly, hand untensing. She was scared. She was just as scared as he was, just as infuriated and upset about what happened. So he lets his hand slip away, watching as she retreats back into herself, hand clutching at the edge of her hospital gown. 

“She died when I was maybe three, she had dropped out of college and everything, drugged out of her mind and manipulated by this man that for some fucked up reason she happened to love. It was an overdose on morphine. Apparently, Pa-” she swallows, eyes squeezed shut as she shifts in her seat uncomfortably. “Brenner.” she lets out a breath and opens her eyes, hands going back to fiddling with the lining of the gown. “Had gotten her hooked on them with all of the testing. And because my mom died, he needed a new test subject.”

Suddenly her hand reaches out again, roughly pulling Mike’s hand back to hers, face blank as she gives him a glance, eyes glossed over in the most numb expression he’s ever seen. Then she turns away, eyes on her toes as she opens her mouth to speak again.

“My father only waited to start my testing until I was about three and a half.” 

Mike freezes, because in that moment, it seems to really hit him. 

“You’re in trouble.” he says breathlessly. 

She turns to him, eyes empty and face flat. “Yeah, and you're not gonna be. That’s why I’m here, Mike.” 

Oh god, never in his life has Mike ever heard his name said so beautifully. He could probably listen to her voice forever. It's soft and low, like an autumn breeze, but it isn't pitched, it's as if you mixed honey with lavender and put a sound to it. Calm and sweet, yet light and airy all at once. And her eyes, oh god, before he just brushed over them but they're so deep. A light brown that Mike could only compare to the dull yellow of amber, overlayed by a drizzle of molasses that sinks to the middle of her iris, making the black of her pupils seem like a deep, deep brown. And the more he stares the more he finds. The feather-light freckles that hilight her cheekbones, not nearly as ugly as his own. The rose pink of her lips, lips that he  _ knows _ are plush, and soft, and perfect in every way. And that thought alone seems so surreal. That just a few minutes ago, this girl- this angelic creature- kissed him. On purpose. No bets, no clumsiness or fogged judgement. Right there. In the middle of his basement in front of all of his friends.

“Uh- quick question.” Lucas’s voice makes the pair jump, snapped out of whatever rose colored daydream they drifted off to. A daydream that to Mike's surprise, brought the prettiest pink tint to the girl’s cheeks. “How do you know his name?” Lucas waves his hand in Mike's direction, and for the first time Mike realizes that he never actually did tell her his name- did he? “I mean, we don't even know your name, so how the fuck do you know his?”

The girl flushes brighter still, and Mike hates how the party can't see how beautiful it is. Because whether this girl is his soulmate- which he highly doubts- or not, she is gorgeous. Mike is staring at her when she starts to speak. 

“I don't… have a name.” 

Lucas grunted in surprise. “What? How can you not have a name you're like, fourteen.”

“I'm sixteen, but I don't have a name. I was a test subject. Names don't matter.” 

Will poked his head out from behind Max, still shaken up from running here. “Then how did you know people were talking to you and not somebody else?”

She looked down once more, hand unclasping from Mike's to upturn her wrist and show the five of them. 

Dustin’s eyes widened as he sat up in his beanbag chair, nearly leaning over the girl’s wrist. 

She’s sixteen, how old was she when she got this? Because Mike knows it's not fresh, because it's faded into a deep grey that stains her skin. No redness in sight. How did she have a tattoo?

“Eleven.” Dustin breathes before looking up at Mike, head whipping up as his curls trail behind his head. “Mike, that’s what you kept saying in the car. You kept asking us where she was, and I thought you had lost it, I guess you were just worried about her.”

She shakes her head. “No, he doesn't know me. This is his first time ever meeting me, so he can't possibly know who I am. Besides, he doesn't normally call me Eleven anyways.”

Will shivers from behind Max and the redhead pulls him back behind her, voice firm. “Normally? What does that mean?” 

Mike completely ignores the annoyed Max Mayfield for the girl next to him. “Wait, so your name is Eleven?” 

She nods. “Yeah.” a small smile dances on her lips. “But you don't like that do you?” 

How did she- 

“No, I really don't.” Mike shakes his head. “I thought you would be named something fancy like Ophelia, Penelope, or maybe like, Eleanor.” 

She smiles warmly, cheeks turning slightly more red and edging away from the normal light pink. “Elanor has a nice ring to it you know, but it's just a little too long for my tastes.” 

Oh my god, was she teasing him!? Holy shit! 

Mike's brain probably goes haywire when she lets out a stifled giggle. He doesn't even care that she's probably laughing at him. Her laughter is like the church bells that toll every Sunday, loud and full, but it isn't that warm deep like her voice, instead it’s light and tinkling, like those little bells that the chior sometimes performs with, rather than the one that sits atop the belltower. Then he realizes that he's been staring at her for like, probably thirty seconds at least, definitely enough time for her to be a little confused.

Say something back you idiot! She wants a name for fucks sake! 

“El. We’ll call you El.”

El smiles, teeth blindingly white. “I love it.” 

That nearly kills him, because wow. She _ loves  _ the name _ he _ gave her? How? He didn't really even think about it that much, he just said the first thing that came to mind. How could she possibly like a name as simple as that? She is anything but simple. She deserves a better name. 

But when he sees her smile, he realizes that it suits her. The way she smiles. The way she laughs. The way she talks. It just kind of screams _ El. _

“Hey!” Lucas cuts in yet again, his face resembling something that looks like disgust. “Is the weirdo gonna finish her story?” 

El’s face drops at that, shrinking back into herself yet again. “Right, sorry.” her hand reaches for Mikes yet again and he meets her halfway, fingers easily molding together. “So, uhm, yeah, my father didn't start testing on me until I was about three and a half. Whenever I ask him why he waited only three months after mom died, he said he was grieving, but I know to him she was just another tryst. Maybe that's why it was only three months.” 

Mike bites his lip, holding himself back as he weighs her hand in his, cold and sweaty. 

“My dad didn't waste any time. Started with simple experiments, like temporary color fixes. He called them lonely heart serums. They were all bullshit, not one of them worked, so he started doing hypnotism, tried to trick my brain into believing it was seeing color, or to make me see color somehow. That didn't work either. He moved onto studying my brain waves, trying to see what parts of it lit up when talking about color, or parts of the eye that weren't being used.” she sighs. “That was when he realized that I could already see color.” 

Mike jumps. “Do you have a soulmate? Who is it!?”

The room seems to collectively roll its eyes at Mike, as if they were all in on some big joke. Did they know who her soulmate was? How could they? They've only just met.

El smiles lightly, knocking her knee against his lightly, sending a trail of goosebumps down his leg. “You're really an idiot sometimes, you know.” She sighs. “Anyway, when my dad found out I had a soulmate, he decided to do more digging. And not digging like, go to the local library, but digging like, shady underground deals.” she taps her foot against his anxiously, fingers fidgeting against his palm. “I was about six years old when I was inducted into the Anti-Eros Society.” 

Max raises her head. “Anti-Eros? What the fuck is that?” 

El frowns. “Have you ever wondered why you can’t see color? Why the world is so… grey?” she pauses, then decides to not wait for an answer. “It happened around the end of the roman renaissance. People were full of curiosity and delighted with how beautifully colorful their world was, overjoyed that their world was so full of love that it showed from the outside in. But like anything in Rome, it ended in tragedy. Some poor fool had fallen in love with a dying woman, and when she had passed he had run to the top of the tallest mountain and begged for his pain to be taken away, for his love for this poor girl to be taken away from him. So Eros, pitying the man, heard his wish and took almost all the love away from the world, and with it came color. When the people realized who had done this to the world, they came to resent love even further, only leaving a few people left to believe in it. The only people who were tied to another, not just consciously, but spiritually. It's really tragic, actually, that this man was so selfish, and he washed the world of color, yet he got his way. He no longer felt sorrow for the girl, and instead went on to live in isolation on the mountain, thanking Eros everyday for cursing mankind.” 

“Woah.” Mike turned to see Dustin curled up in his beanbag chair, tears pricking at the corner of his eyes. “That’s fucked.” 

Max nods confusedly, now lightly stroking Will’s hand as it clung to her sleeve. “Yeah, ok, that's depressing and all, but how does this Anti-Eros Society tie into any of that?” 

El frowned even deeper, giving a weak glare at Max before continuing. “Well, several decades later, a man named Andrew Rainer had gone away to paris for education, and somewhere in the eight years he spent overseas, he met a girl named Adeline and they fell in love. They were soulmates, perfect for each other in every way. This delighted the gods, and Eros, having not had many duties for ages, sprang at the opportunity, giving color to people like them all over the world. People who could still love, despite how grey the world had become.” she smiled. “So Andrew and his wife published the color theory. Of course, this caused people to go in search of their own soulmates, recklessly abandoning their families in hopes of happiness or freedom, only to give up, or worse, die along the way. The population had reached an all time low, and governments started to silently plan ways to stop this from happening. It was actually Andrew himself who came forward to the american government with the idea of a secret society. He hated seeing people hurting themselves for something so good, something so happy, so he proposed the Anti-Eros Society in its first form. Ordinary people, living in ordinary towns, trapping and keeping anybody who tried to run away from their families or homes. Think of it as a more complicated neighborhood watch.” El let her eyes fall. “I think the original plan Andrew had was meant well, but since then, it has evolved into something that’s so dark and grim, most people would shiver at the thought.”

Will peeked his head around the mop of red yet again, his eyes wide. “What is it like now?” 

El twitched, her face pinching up momentarily in pain, as if she was remembering something, something bad. “It- they-” she swallowed and opened her eyes, squeezing Mike’s hand tighter and pressing closer to him. “When trying to keep people inside stopped working, the society grew violent. The idea of fear kept most from trying to escape, but still, a few were able to make it out.” El paused, letting out a sudden, violent sob, torso falling forward to press to her head to her knees, hands yanking away from Mike’s.

“El?” Mike fell to the floor, kneeling in front of her and trying to lift her face gently. “Hey, hey, it's ok, you don't have to-”

El sat up, lookin at him with a tear-filled gaze. “No, I- I’m fine, just-” she hesitated, searching Mike's eyes for something, analyzing. She blinked before opening her legs and tucking her hospital gown down the middle, patting the front of the sofa as she looked at him. “Can you just come sit here? So I can um…” she flushed. “Just… come here.”

Mike nodded and turned around, scooting back until he was sitting between her legs. For most people, doing this with a total stranger would probably be super freaky, and awkward as hell. But for some reason, like all things with El, it felt right. Like they had somehow spent a million lifetimes together, and they just… were. 

But probably just like, platonically.

El ran her hands through Mike's hair, fingertips pulling knots out of it as her fingertips gently brushed against his scalp. It was so simple, yet so calming, for both parties involved, and soon enough, El spoke again.

“As the society started getting older they recruited new members from their families, and they-” her hands clenched in his hair. “They sent them off to be… ‘improved’” her voice was angry, irritated and direct, disgusted to the point of anger. “So scientists and doctors all over the world left their families, some just disappearing, others faking their own death, all on government orders.” her hands moved hesitantly against his scalp, fingers weaving into knotted strands and lightly pulling. She was trying to act calm, he could tell. “They dedicated their lives to supernatural studies of the human brain and it’s capabilities. Some built tech that would allow for time travel, others mixed and matched formulas and potions to improve human strength and coordination, and others created monsters to capture and kill escapees at will.” El heaved in a deep breath, hands gently twitching against his scalp. “Time travel only became possible about ten years ago, when I was first inducted into the society, so I was one of the first to travel and wield... abilities.”

Lucas raised his eyebrows. “Abilities? Like you psychically throwing Mike across the room?”

She nodded. Eyes lowered. “I know how awful it is, but it's all I've ever known.” she paused, fingers happily swirling thick black strands around her fingers. He can practically hear the smile in her voice as she speaks. “Or.. well, it was.” Mike feels her hands slip from his head as she plants a kiss along his hairline. Making him red from head to toe. 

Dustin raised an eyebrow. “But… how? He doesn't know you. How do you know him?”

El laughed. “Time travel! We use locators to find spirits that are entwined and we can travel to them at any point to like, prevent them from meeting or something… or course, I’ve only ever done that when I’m forced to, but, when they weren't watching me, I would sometimes sneak out and find you guys.” she nods at Lucas and Max. 

Max sits up straighter. “Us?” she gestures between her and Lucas, who is frozen in place. El nods to her with a smile. “Why?” 

“Oh, well, I can't directly travel to see Mike, though I’m sure he would love keeping me to himself.” she snickers and Mike has to remind himself that they're probably just friends, and his soulmate is elsewhere. “But no, sadly, our machines can only help us travel to mates that are at danger distance.”

Dustin leans forward. “Danger distance?” 

El pauses and stares at Dustin before laughing. “Oh, right, we’ve just met. Ok, danger distance varies from mate to mate so the best way to describe it is when your eyes see colors in full. You see, the farther mates are, the dimmer the colors are, until the cut off, which is basically where all color goes out.”

Will is fully sitting next to Max now, although her arm is wrapped protectively around his shoulder. “Is that what happened with Mike today?”

El tightens her hands in Mike's hair, pulling lightly and causing Mike to wince. “Yes, and by the way, all of this is your fault.”

Mike blinks, whipping around to face El. “What? What did I do!?”

El groans. “Well, you could’ve been fucking observant like your little nerdy ass always is and notice how the world was getting grey for no reason. Use your observation skills Mr. science. I mean, if you had told me before when I visited I would’ve been ready for this kind of inconvenience, but nope, I just blacked out right there in the lab and Kali was freaking the fuck out because I nearly died. So next time, don't pass our cut off without warning me first.”

Wait… what?

* * *

“So you're telling me you are actually my time traveling, telekinetic girlfriend?” 

El nods for probably the fifth time, expectantly sitting in front of him on the couch. “Well, soulmate, but yeah.”

She's no longer wearing her hospital gown and her hair is pulled back by a weak elastic, small curls escaping and framing her face perfectly. After Mike fainted, she probably had a solid thirty minutes to get out of those clothes, so he wasn't exactly shocked that she changed, he was just shocked at how good she looked.

She’s wearing a pale pink summer dress that falls to her knees, puff sleeves and rounded white collar. It's one of Nancy’s old ones that she left behind when she headed off to New York for her internship at the _New York_ _Times._ When Nancy used to wear it he always told her how he thought it looked trashy and worn, but she would just flip him off and wear it anyway. But now, on El?

Holy shit she looked amazing.

It wasn't too formal or too casual, just like her. Its color was light and feminine while the cut was rounded and smooth, making a perfect match for her light tan skin and smooth curves. The cinched waist showed off her hips in a way that made Mike feel light headed, and the crimped fabric of the front seemed to perfectly cup her breasts, making them that much perkier. 

He swallows as he forces his mind to stay on topic, trying to pull some sort of words out of his mouth.

Mike's hand goes to his forehead. “A-and how are you dating me again?”

El gives him a flat look. “Time travel.”

Mike sighs. “Yeah, but like, how did you meet me?”

“Well, I was assigned Lucas because Max was going on a business trip, and whenever closed distance soulmates risk finding out that they can see, we have to stop them at all costs. So-”

Max clears her throat from her spot on the loveseat. “Are you sure me and Lucas are soulmates, because it feels like bullshit, I mean, come on.”

El rolls her eyes and turns to rummage through her folded hospital gown, pulling out a small baggie with five pills. “These-” she pops the bag open, pulling out one red and white capsule. “Are called dimmers. We use them in emergency situations to shorten danger distances down to only a few feet. For situations like yours, if I was following protocol, I would have to give these to you somehow without you noticing. Spike your drink, sell you some under a false name, knock out some guy who works at your pharmacy, you know, the works. But, I’ve only actually used them once. If you both take one, I can prove that you are soulmates, if that's what you want.”

Dustin sits up. “So do you people just carry those around or…” 

Will shushes him angrily before looking between Max and Lucas as they stare at each other. 

Lucas speaks first, voice distracted as he stands up. “I think I just need a moment alone.”

Max nods, rising to her feet and lightly catching Lucas’s elbow with some degree of nervousness. “Yeah, me too. Do you wanna go together?” 

It's not even a question, because without speaking they start walking towards the basement door, hands finding each other almost immediately as they quietly slip out into the night. 

“Ok, now that the sceptics are gone.” Dustin pipes up, scooting his beanbag up to the couch right next to El. It’s weird how easily she gets along with all of them, how easily she can just slip into their lives and belong. “Tell me about the future me. Do I look good? Like, at least better than now? Do we leave hawkins? Oh! Do _ I _ have a soulmate!?”

El giggles and Mike’s heart skips a beat as she squeezes her eyes shut in humor. “Um, well, let's just say you grow into your looks.” she taps her foot. “As for your soulmate, I haven't met her yet. The timeline I usually visit is when you guys are in your twenties, and you meet her when you are… I wanna say twenty six? I've seen her, you know, from case files, but your case was assigned to my friend Kali so I don't know the specifics. I've asked her to let you guys happen though, so i'm not really worried that you aren't gonna get together.” 

Wil stands up and moves to the floor by Dustin, shoving him halfway off the beanbag with a grunt before settling next to a now slightly annoyed Dustin. “Are you sure you're allowed to tell us this stuff? Won't it ruin the timeline?”

El shakes her head. “No. In every timeline I always end up telling you. So actually, not telling you probably would have messed up the timeline.”

Will nods hesitantly, then he looks at El with slight curiosity. “What about me? What's my future like?”

She smiles at him sympathetically. “You’re happy. You work at a comic studio in Chicago that restores vintage comics and you love it. The whole party lives in Chicago, so it's actually really nice. We all meet up every sunday for lunch and shit, it's super sappy. You definitely get more handsome so don't even worry about it.” Will smiles as a light blush tinges his cheeks, and el leans forward to place a hand on his shoulder comfortingly. “But the thing that you are worried about isn't even a problem in the future, Will. We all love you no matter what, and your soulmate loves you too, like, alot.” 

Will tries to hide a stray tear that threatens to fall from his eyes, a watery smile on his face. “Thanks, El. It means alot.” 

She smiles. “No problem.” 

Dustin taps her knee. “Wait, so how did you meet Mike? Were you assigned him?”

El shakes her head. “Yes and no. When I was assigned Lucas and Max, my dad gave me a warning to not visit the apartment they live at, saying it would jeopardize the whole mission. I wasn't going to do the mission regardless, but I was fourteen at the time, so of course I went anyways. Who knew I would meet me at twenty years old.” 

Dustin's eyebrows shot up. “Wait, _ you met your future self!? _ Doesn't that like, tear the fabric of the universe or something!?” 

El laughs, clutching her stomach and wiping away a stray tear. “Holy shit, you really never change Dustin. No, that's just if we make contact. I guess I somehow get out of the whole Anti-Eros bullshit, because future me doesn’t time travel, but yeah, I thinkI’m fine, I mean I've met me.” she bursts into another round of giggles, hand flying up to grip Mike's shoulder as she tries to catch her breath. 

Mike looks over at her and smiles, trying to remember the question he had before and almost forgetting before she stops laughing, slowly sitting up and turning to him, like she knows what he's going to ask. “So uh… if future me is with future you, uhm, why did you kiss me like that?” her eyebrows raise as she gives him a look, expectant as she crosses her arms playfully. “I mean- you just walked up to me and fucking-” Mike flushes and covers his mouth, his next words coming out slightly garbled as he avoids her eyes. “I mean, it really didn't seem like your first kiss.”

El blushes and her shoulders rise in embarrassment as she tries to melt into herself. “Uhm, well, I didn't just travel to your twenties you know? There are a few years between now and then that I’m not around for you, which I hate.” El’s eyes go distant for a moment before she comes back. “So I would come to visit, because twenty year old you always told me how much better life was when I came to visit. I won't share all the details because, uhm, yeah.” she looks to her feet nervously before sitting bolt upright, cheeks turning a deeper shade of red than he's ever seen before. “But, everything happened when we were both sixteen! So, uhm, yeah.”

Dustin fake gags. “Ugh, you two are disgusting.” he’s silent for a moment before he shrugs. “Well, actually. Mike got laid, so… good on him.” 

“DUSTIN!” Mike feels like his face is gonna melt when El starts laughing, and thank god for Lucas and Max, because they finally decided to come back inside. 

El glances at the door as her laughter dies off, clearing her throat as Max gives her an annoyed glare and Lucas gives her a suspicious once-over. “Well? What did you decide?” 

_ As if she already didn't know. _

Max nods. “Yeah, we’ll do it.” 

* * *

“So I just swallow it? No chewing or anything?”

El nods and hands her a glass of water. “Yep! Just swallow. It’ll take about fifteen minutes to really kick in, but until then we can just watch some shitty horror movie or something.” 

Max pauses, pill pinched between her fingers and glass an inch away from her lips. She lowers her hands and looks into the mirror of the basement bathroom at the Wheelers. 

She barely knows what she's thinking. Taking drugs from a stranger. Only idiots do shit like that.

Was she an idiot? 

No, she was pretty smart. All A’s in her classes. Honors student. She was smart. 

Just, not when it came to love. 

She loves Lucas. They've been dating since second grade and they're still going steady. Of course she loves him.

But has she been seeing color this whole time? Is Lucas really her soulmate? 

It seems like a dumb question, because the answer should be no, because soulmates shouldn’t exist. 

But Mike, in the car… 

“Take your time, I know it's kind of crazy.” 

Max looks behind her in the mirror. 

For no reason at all, Max desperately wants to trust her. She wants to believe everything she says and wants to make her laugh and then laugh along with her.

But she just doesn’t.

That's what her and Lucas had talked about outside. How they didn't know her. How they couldn't know if she was lying. How they could save Mike, Will and Dustin if she really was some crazy bitch. 

But when they walked back in, they were laughing. 

So now here she was, taking pills from a stranger.

“It’s not that, I just-” Max puts the pill down on the side of the sink and reaches behind El to shut the door behind them, instantly making the boy’s conversation distant. “How do I know you're not bullshitting me and this isn't cyanide or something?”

El’s eyes soften and a smile stretches over her face, cheeks lifting into a calmed expression. “Do you wanna know the first thing you told me when I saw you for the first time?”

Max looks into El’s eyes. Really looks, tries to find anything at all that is off, but it’s just the same light brown staring back at her, the same kind eyes. Max swallows hard and nods.

El smiles. “You told me Lucas had stubbed his toe that morning, so you decided to get drunk.”

Max felt her face pinch in confusion. “What?” 

“You were going on a bisuness trip the next day, and you were scared that Lucas would miss you, so that morning when Lucas had stubbed his toe, it reminded you of just how clumsy and stupid he is, and you were all worried he wouldnt be able to survive without you. So you skipped work and drank all day.”

Max raised an eyebrow. “Well, he is. What's the point of this story?”

“The point is…” El reached for Max’s hand and entwined their fingers. It felt weirdly familiar. “I was fourteen and I had to carry you home, drunk, to a place my father told me not to go. I was terrified, and you were too, because it was something new. For both of us. But it worked out. You went on your trip the next day with only a slight hangover, and I met Mike.” she dropped her arm and let their hands swing freely between them, tightly clasped as Max watched their hands sway. “We took a leap, a small one, but still a leap. You hadn’t even realized that I was meeting you for the first time until you landed in LA, and you were so embarrassed and you kept apologizing and worrying that I hated you, but I thanked you. Because you made me who I am today, and I feel like, if you leap with me, I could make you into who you should be.”

Max looked up to see tears in El’s eyes, and without thinking, she threw her arms around her, tears staining her shoulder. El froze, head buried in red locks, arms hovering around them for a few seconds before her body relaxed and she hugged back. Max let out a shaky breath. “Thank you.”

El nodded, sniffling as she pushed her away, wiping her tears with her right hand as her left clung to Max’s arm. “You really should take that pill, or you guys won’t experience the effects at the same time.”

Max nods as she picks up the pill and the water, letting the pill roll into her palm as she raises her glass of water. 

“To leaps.”

El laughs as tears stream down her cheeks, miming an invisible glass to clink against hers. 

“To leaps.”

* * *

“Ok, it's been fifteen minutes. What do we do?”

Dustin groans from his spot on the floor, burying his head in his bean bag. “Come on! It was just starting to get good!” 

Max looked over to the TV, remote still in hand. “Uh, It’s Star Wars. All of it is just nerdy shit? God, get over it Dustin, we’ll watch it later.” 

Dustin rolls over onto his back, spreading his arms out dramatically before resting his hands beneath his head. “Ok, fine. Whaddaya got?” 

El stands up from her spot next to Mike on the couch. They weren't holding hands or anything, which was honestly weird, but Mike also seemed a little nervous about how new this all was, so it was to be expected. 

“Ok, I’m going to walk you outside, and tell me if anything changes.” El linked her arm with Max and turned to the rest of them, a spark of curious excitement in her eyes. “I’ve never used this on anyone so I really am not sure how far you have to go.”

Max jumped and then turned to El with a nervous glance. “Wait- I thought you said it was only a few feet.”

El shrugged. “Should be.” she smiled and gave Lucas a serious look. “Ok, listen to me, Lucas, you too Max.” she took a short glance at Max. “This might hurt a bit, but it shouldn't be super bad because of the pill. If it starts to really hurt, tell me, and we can come right back inside.”

Lucas and Max nodded before El and Max stepped out, closing the door behind them. 

“So, anything?” Dustin was standing now, arm around Lucas’s shoulder as they stared at the door. 

Lucas shook his head. “No, not really.” he sucked in his bottom lip. “Hey, guys, if this doesn't work and El’s a liar, I want you guys to run to my place. I've got weapons and snacks and shit, just like, hide out someplace safe? Like Castle Byers.” 

Will glanced over at Mike before huffing a sigh and standing up, watching out of the corner of his eye as Mike’s gaze followed him, approaching Lucas. “Hey, don’t worry about it, El seems really cool.” he took the final steps to close the distance between them, a comforting hand on the shoulder. Dustin wasn't leaning on. “And just so you know, we'd never, ever leave you behind.”

Dustin smiled and squeezed him even closer. “Yeah, man. If one of us goes down, we all go down.”

Will looked over to Mike, who was watching them with a frown. He smiled and waved him over, watching as he reluctantly slumped over to them. Will knew that it was stupid to think like this right now, after everything he learned today, but he was still the most beautiful boy he had ever seen. It shocked him that he had a different soulmate, because he always thought Mike had been the one for him, that it just never really swung both ways. 

Maybe he’d be able to tell him all of that soon.

When Mike joined them he encircled them all with his twig-like arms, bringing them in for a huge hug as they smiled. And for a moment, it was perfect.

Lucas smiled and laughed, “Hey, thanks guys I really-”

And that's when it started happening. 

Lucas nearly fell to the floor, legs collapsing underneath him as he groaned in surprise, taking in a sharp breath of air. 

Dustin, ever the scientist, started asking question after question.

“Does it hurt?”

“Can you see the colors now or are they just gone?”

“Are you feeling lightheaded? Dizzy?”

And then, as soon as it started, it was over. El and Max rushed inside, Max instantly running to Lucas and throwing her arms around him, tears streaming down her cheeks and she repeated the same words over and over. 

_ “I love you, I love you, I love you. I love you- _ ”

* * *

“How long are you staying?”

It was around three AM. normally, Mike would be asleep, but he knew he wasn't the only one awake. He knew that next to him was a strange girl that he knew nothing about, other than that she could see color too, that she’s met him before, that she knew him. 

El turned over in her sleeping bag, face resting inches away from Mike’s as her brown eyes bore into his. “What?” 

Mike closed his eyes and sighed, reaching an uncertain hand out to grasp hers firmly, nearly melting with relief as her fingers squeezed back. 

“I mean…” Mike looked at their hands and swallowed. “You said I was alone. Or.. that I would be, that's why you would visit me. So, I know you're not gonna be here long.” Mike felt his grip loosen a little bit, fingers tracing the back of El’s hand. “So how long? Until you go?”

El smiled, a faint sadness in her eyes. “I can't tell you how long I’ll be gone. You’d try to stop me.”

Mike looked into her eyes, losing himself in those warm brown eyes as she gripped his hand even tighter. “Where are you going?”

“Anti-Eros headquarters.”

Mike's eyes widened. “I thought you were against them?”

El sighed and let go of his hand with one final squeeze. “That’s why I'm going.”

Mike sighed and pulled his hands back into himself, trying to ignore the sickly feeling in his gut. “But you’ll come back right? You of this timeline or whatever, not past you or future you?”

El laughed softly, strands of curly brown hair falling into her face as her eyes flooded with uncertainty, but not for herself, for him, for how he would survive without her. “Yeah, yeah I will.”

Mike swallowed and tried to smile, tried to show her that he would be ok, that she didn't have to worry. “Do you promise?”

El laughed, eyes squeezing shut as she reached out for his hand once more. 

“I promise.”

* * *

“Why are you so bummed out about this? I thought you hated living here. Shouldn't moving out be like, amazing?” 

Mike glanced over to Will, boxes balanced in his arms as he went through the checklist one more time, just to make sure he had everything. Just to make sure it was all shoved into Lucas’s stupid van. 

“Yeah, it should I just-” he looked up towards the top window, the one with dark blue curtains and star wars action figures shoved onto the ledge, plastic gleaming in the afternoon light. “I just feel like somethings supposed to happen. Like I'm missing something, you know?”

Will nodded, shoving the last of his stuff in the trunk. “Yeah, I know what you mean. Today just feels weird. Like, as if we’re waiting for something. It's probably just nerves about moving out.”

Mike nodded, finally moving to shove the last of his stuff in next to Will’s. The trunk was full now, every member of the party shoved into boxes that probably should've held more things, but really only held what they needed. DnD sets, old prom dresses and summer camp t-shirts, polaroids from when they could barely walk and pictures from senior prom, basketball trophies, multi colored flags, bedsheets and quilted blankets. It was so much less than what it meant. The value these objects held could probably pay for all four years of college for all of them, but the trunk still had 1/6th of it left, as if it was waiting for someone else to come up behind them and fill it up completely, like it was incomplete somehow. 

Mike glanced at his watch. They had about fifteen minutes left until they had to go, plenty of time to take a breather, to catch his breath. “I'm gonna go make sure I have everything, you guys can start getting the snacks from the kitchen, I’ll be out soon.”

Will nodded as Mike started making his way towards the front door, shoes dragging against the asphalt as will called out to the others, “Hey, guys come on, Mike said he’s gonna do one more sweep, then we can go.”

His bedroom has never changed, not once in the whole eighteen years he’d been living in this house. Same dark blue walls and curtains, same nerdy action figures and 80’s movies posters, same stupid Marvel comics bedsheets, still rumpled from when he got up this morning. It was as if it was any other day, as if nothing new was happening, as if he wasn't an adult now, with bills and a dorm room that was over a two thousand miles away. 

He had so many memories in this house. Losing his first tooth, helping paint Holly’s nursery, playing dnd for the first time as The Party, meeting El. 

El. Maybe that's what he’d been searching for. Maybe that's what he thought he forgot. What he had got two extra boxes for. For El. 

The past two years with El had been the happiest he had been since he was seven years old, full of life and curiosity and the need to discover more. El had given him something new to discover, to wonder when her next visit was, to wonder what they would be doing next time, to wonder if she was going to hang out with the party or if they would spend the night inside, doing things that his parents definitely did not approve of.

But it was never completely right. It's been about three months since her last visit, two years since her first visit, and he hasn't seen his El, the one that he met that one fateful night in June of 1987, since that night. 

The El he was meant to be with for the rest of his life was yet to return to him after two fucking years. And while sixteen year old El’s visits were certainly nice, they were never really the same as that night. 

Mike looked around the room, making sure he had gotten everything. His desk lamp, his new bedding and his old navy blue comforter, his favorite posters from his ceiling, every polaroid and photo he would've wanted. But then his eyes caught on his nearly empty corkboard, and suddenly he was rushing over. 

The picture of him and El from New Year’s Eve of 1987. 

That night had been one of the best nights of his life. Lucas had somehow stolen actual champagne from his parents liquor cabinet, and Max had found some of those really cheap plastic champagne flutes you got at likem party city. El had showed up at like, 10 pm and then her and Dustin dragged them all out to Hulburry Hill for fireworks as they drank and counted down. At midnight, El had kissed him so hard he nearly forgot his name and in that moment, it didn't matter if it wasn't  _ his El _ , because she just seemed so alive, so… happy. Will had ended up snapping a picture just at midnight, and it was probably his most treasured item. His face pulled into one of shock as El kissed him, Lucas getting an earful from Max about how cliche midnight kisses were as Dustin danced like an idiot in the background, so proud of himself for setting up an entire pyrotechnics show by himself. 

It was a picture of the party in its truest form, just a bunch of nerds being dumb and carefree as lights exploded around them, covering them in yellows and whites. 

“Remembering something?”

Mike looked up from the photo in his hands and all air left him, because there, in the doorway, was El. Not sixteen year old El, the one who had spent nights in his basement watching god awful horror movies, but the one he met in 1987. The one who had aged with the time. 

Her hair was longer now, the curls that normally adorned her head turned into smooth waves and her skin, normally a pale rose, was a light tan, cheeks flushed and eyes dulled with the past years. Her curves were more defined than they were when they were when she was sixteen, if that was even possible. Hips easily blending into her legs and torso curving in just right, she was every renaissance painter’s daydream. Her eyelashes were longer, darker, like her hair, no longer honey brown, but a deep tan, just a few light brown strands still lingering in her hair. She seemed different too, her smile was brighter, more wide, more happy. Happier than he had ever seen her, yet her teeth weren't even showing. She looked at peace. Like the world was finally right, and if she was back, that much had to be true.

He swallowed as she leaned against the door, an expectant smile on her lips. And who was he to deny her? So he dropped the stupid photo and he ran to her, arms coming to wrap around her shoulders as tears welled up in his eyes. 

They still fit together like puzzle pieces, her head easily nestled beneath his chin as her hand came up to play with the hair at the nape of his neck, sending happy little chills through him as he let his arms fall to her hips, just wanting to completely freeze time in this moment, because this was it. She was home wasn't she? For good?

And somehow, El heard his thoughts and let out a happy little sob as she pulled away slightly from him, hands going up to his neck to pull him down to her, lips crashing together sloppily as their teeth clinked from matching smiles. 

And he knew, this was it, here and now, this was the beginning. 

This was the start of the rest of his life.

* * *

“One more time,  _ pleeeeeeeeease _ ?” Dustin begged from the passenger seat next to Will, who’s eyes were hyperfixed on the road ahead of him. 

El rolled her eyes and pulled Mike's arm tighter around her shoulders, trying to shrink into him as she blushed with embarrassment. “Dustin, I already told it like, twenty times.”

He scoffed. “Yeah, you only told the story of how you saved the fucking world twenty times, so tell it another fifty for the _ disgusting couple in the back _ !”

Behind them, Max pulled away from Lucas's lips with a smack. “Hey! I am exercising my right to kiss my stupid boyfriend, so you can fuck off Henderson!”

El stifled a giggle against Mike's chest as he smiled. He felt content to just sit here with her for now, arms basically cradled around her as the conversion bounced from Dustin to Mike to El and then back again. He knew that when he got to campus he would have plenty of time to walk her and Max to thier dorm, which really pissed him off because of course she told fucking _ Max  _ and not him, of course. 

“Ok, so like I said…” and there she goes again, that sparkle in her eyes as she recounted the past two years she had spent away from them, eyes dancing around as her hands made wild motions for emphasis. “When I first left the basement at like, six in the morning, I really only knew that I had to go to headquarters in D.C., because that's what future me had said, word for word, just, go to D.C. So I hopped forward a few years with Kali’s help and got a bus ticket with the money your parents left by the front door. I told the idiots at headquartered that I’d been promoted to regional manager, and of course they fucking believed me. So then it was just a simple inside job, firing the best workers, calling Kali and making sure the branch collapsed before moving onto the next. Nobody suspected anything, because its a huge fucking organization, they dont just check every cubicle, y’know. So when we had wiped out nearly all of the midwest, it was only one sentence in the newsletter, because it's the midwest, nobody cared. I think they only started taking notice when we started taking out Europe, and at that point, we only needed a few more months. They figured out it was me just as the last branch was closing, and we had won. Governments all across the world reported mortality rates going up and suicide going down, all beacuse the world was colorful again. All because Anti-motherfucking-Eros had finally fallen from grace in the summer of 1995.”

Dustin screeched and drummed his hands against the leather on the back of the passenger seat, seatbelts be damned. Will glared at him for the Millionth time that day and El melted further into Mike as they passed the next exit without stopping, stupid 80’s Mixtape blaring at a ridculous volume as they sped along the interstate to seattle, trunk completely full with boxes and hearts completely full with fufillment. 

“How did I get this lucky?” Mike turned to El, hand coming up to tuck a loose strand of brow hair back behind her ear. 

She giggled. “I should be asking you the same thing, I mean, you were the one who found my dad’s book all those years ago.”

Mike stopped his hand’s movements against her arm as she giggled besides him. “What?” 

El smiled. “‘ _ Love and Hue.’  _ you guys found it the summer before freshman year. I put it there, I posed as the fucking librarian and tied up a poor old lady just so you guys could find that book, only for my stupid dad to pull me off the time warp at the last minute for snooping.” 

Mike’s eyes widened as the memory came back to him. “Holy shit! That was you? Huh, that makes so much sense now…” Mike nodded before turning back to her, confusion renewed. “Wait- when did you have time to do that?”

She smiled. “When I was thirteen I had this really bad fight with my dad and I ended up using the warp machine out of spite. I didn't know how it worked, so i had stolen one of dad’s books, but it didn't do jack shit other than put me in that library with you. So I put it somewhere like, a few rows back from where I landed and decided I was librarian for the day. Little did I know that you guys would come in looking for that exact book, and little did i know dad would wake up and wipe your memories like it was nothing. That was around the time he decided I should become a member of Anti-Eros. Genetically enhanced mind powers and all.” she frowned. “I don't like thinking about it much, because I think if I had just left it alone you would've found me sooner, or I wouldn't have had to jump through so many hoops just so we could hold hands.” she raised their hands with a laugh and looked out the window, lost in thought. 

Mike smiled and Kissed their entwined hands, bringing El’s attention back to him as he spoke. “Hey, El?” 

Her eyes shyly met his as she let out a small squeak, cheeks heating up under his gaze as she waited for him to continue. 

“You're my colors.”

Dustin groaned. “Dear god, you're almost as disgusting as the tongue buddies back there.”

“Hey!” Max wined and everyone exploded into laughter as the car made its way towards Seattle, dead set on finding the future they were destined for, the future that was vivid, and bright, and colorful, and so, so, so full of love.

Because in the end, as long as they had each other, they could take on the world.

**Author's Note:**

> ok, so i never read the end notes at the end of oneshots, so if you're reading this, you probably have read Just a Rebound, and for you I have good news!
> 
> the next update should probably be coming in the next week or so!
> 
> if you're reading this and haven't read Just a Rebound, please do. It's a concept I've been working on for ages and its my first ever attempt at writing an entire like, 30 chapter fic. So please, please read!
> 
> anyways, 40 PAGES!!! WHOA!!! I didn't know I had it in me but wow!!! I'm pretty sure that's longer than one of those stupid rainbow fair novels I used to read when I was in second grade, which were basically glittery science fiction books. so yeah, I'm kinda proud this drabble turned into a not-so drabble.
> 
> and with that, I will go back into my hole and draw catadora while crying my eyes out to early 2009 songs. 
> 
> I bid you adieu.


End file.
